


Across Time and Space

by BlimpFruit



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi | Fire Emblem: Binding Blade, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-10-12 19:04:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17473250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlimpFruit/pseuds/BlimpFruit
Summary: Raigh grew up in an orphanage, with his brother being the only family he ever knew. That suited him just fine. He had enough people in his life that were important to him.However, in Askr, Heroes are summoned from all times and places. And so, here, in the crossroads of space and time, an unlikely reunion occurs.





	1. Reunion

Deep breath.

Erase the self. There is only darkness. Reach into the primordial depths, and access its power. Speak the ancient words.

“ _Fenrir!_ ”

A swarm of purple spirits appeared and flames, and mixed together, eventually collapsing into a singularity, with an awesome burst of power.

...approximately 15 paces to the left of the intended target.

“Oh damn it all!”

Raigh swept the sweat off his brow and sighed exasperatedly. The annoying thing that this represented a marked improvement over his prior attempts to wield the tome, most of which resulted in the spirits simply fizzling out. In any case, that seemed like a good place to stop for the day. While magecraft training might not involve all of the toil that physical weapons required, it was still draining, and overwork was just as deadly. This was, of course, especially so when dealing with dark magic, which could be dangerous even at the best of times. Nevertheless, it felt like a waste to take a break right when he reached a breakthrough. But that summoner had been getting on his case about exhausting himself too much, and he’d rather not have to sit through another lecture about proper self-care. Tch. As if that fool could possibly understand why it was so important that he gain as much power as he could.

Raigh glanced back down at the tome. Then again, perhaps he had been too quick to get irritated (Lugh always got on his case about that). After all, he had already achieved more in his pursuit of the ancient arts in his short time here in Askr than in the months he had spent aimlessly wandering around Elibe. He certainly wouldn’t have obtained this book in his travels. 

Sometimes it really struck Raigh how thoroughly bizarre his life had become in such a short period of time. One minute he was sneaking into the citadel of the Bernese forces in the Isles, the next he was standing before some weirdo in a white cloak. Of course, at first, he found their offer laughable. Why would he agree to fight for some random army he’d never heard of in whatever war they had landed themselves in? While he had to admit it was flattering to be considered a “hero”, he wasn’t much for the “heroic ideal” of getting himself killed for a cause he knew nothing of. But after thinking it over for a second, he realized that here was an opportunity others would kill for. Access to magecraft powerful enough to shatter spacetime and pluck people from other dimensions. The combined magical wisdom of not just an entire world, but multiple worlds. He couldn’t have dreamed of a place more perfect for giving him the path to the power he sought. With that in mind, was fighting really such a cost to pay? So, he agreed to join the Order of Heroes.

And already his agreement had borne fruit. There was no way he’d have been able to get his hands on the Fenrir tome back home. He could pick pockets until his hair turned grey and he’d still not have nearly enough gold to buy it. He smirked, the thought reminding him of a friend from back at the orphanage.

“Betcha wish you had picked a better skill, huh, Chad?”

Suddenly, a voice dripping with preening piped up from behind him.

“I do not see anyone with the moniker ‘Chad’ in the vicinity. Have your mental faculties perhaps been addled by an ill-attempted charm? Or is it the case that despite your age, you still embark in the pastime of having a so-called ‘imaginary friend’?”

Raigh groaned internally. If there was anything that made him regret his choice to stay in this land, it was having to deal with this insufferable excuse for a mage. Reluctantly, he turned around, hoping to end this conversation as soon as possible, before he succumbed to his urges to bash his head against the nearest wall.

“I wasn’t talking to any-oh forget it. Look, what do you want, Lute? I’d think that someone as "superior" as you would figured out by now that I don’t want to talk to you.”

She looked vaguely offended. Good. Maybe that’d mean she’d leave already.

“As a matter of fact, I am aware of your general cantankerous disposition. And do believe me when I say I take no pleasure in interaction with you. But a matter of some interest has necessitated that I make this inquiry.”

“Oh? And what is this _matter of some interest_?”, Raigh repeated sarcastically.

“Another mage has been summoned-”

“Oh, really? What a shocking surprise. That hasn’t happened since what, Thursday?”

“If you would not yield to your constant need to cut off all who have the ill luck of attempting to converse with you, you might find that human interaction is not nearly so abysmal as you think.”

“Oh please, as if you’re a social butterfly yourself. Now, are we done here?”

Raigh turned around. Clearly, Lute had nothing better to do than make idle conversation. Well, he certainly wasn’t such a layabout, and had much better things to do with his time.

“Unfortunately, we are not. If you would have allowed me to finish, I was going to say that this mage bears a striking resemblance to yourself, being at your approximate age, but also possessing a similar facial structure. And, if my expert eyes do not deceive, precisely the same shade of hair color.”

Raigh stopped in his tracks. Was it really him? Did the universe really pick his brother to join him here?

“However, this mage’s disposition is the complete opposite of yours, being sunny and pleasant while you are surly and ornery.”

It really was him-

“Nevertheless, I felt the resemblance to be uncanny enough to determine whether or not you possess a familial relationship to this girl. If you do, I hope that she escapes the stain of your bond.”

Well. Never mind. It figured, the chances of Lugh also being summoned here was astronomical. It must have all been a coincidence.

“I don’t have a sister or any cousins or anything. I just have my brother.”

“All the better for her then. Good day, Raigh.”

And so, Raigh put the thought of this new mage who apparently looked like him out of his mind, and went on with his day.

\------------

Raigh groaned. It seemed that he had been too wrapped up in his studies after training, as he had lost track of the time, and forgot to get to the mess hall before it was filled up with the rest of the Order. Now he’d have to endure listening to their insipid conversations until he could obtain his meal and break away to merciful silence. He reluctantly got into line.

Suddenly, someone slammed into him from behind, staggering him. A high, girlish voice peeped up from behind him.

“Oh my goodness I am so so sorry! I, I wasn’t looking where I was going and please forgive me!”

Irritated, Raigh swung around, ready to excoriate whatever imbecile couldn’t even be bothered to pay attention to their surroundings, but was struck dumb in his tracks.

Before him was a girl in a purple cloak, right about his height. Her face looked almost exactly like his. If it weren’t for her purple headband and slightly different attire, he could swear he was looking into a mirror.

Evidently, she was as astonished as him, because she stood there, mouth agape, looking as stunned as he probably did. They stared at each other for a short while. Then, her face broke into a hopeful grin.

“Kai?”

“I...What?”

Her smile got more desperate and her eyes became glassy, as if she were holding back tears.

“Are you...is your name Kai?”

He could only look at her in confusion.

“I don’t know who that is. My name is Raigh.”

She immediately turned away.

“Oh. I’m so sorry, then. Please excuse me, Raigh.”

She started to walk away quickly.

“Wait-”

But it was too late. She had already ran off, leaving him standing there, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's hype for family reunions I know I am


	2. Introductions

“Alright, that’s the end of the assessment.” 

The young man with the disapproving face (Leo was his name, Nino was pretty sure) waved at her to go sit down while he finished writing on his sheet.

Nino could barely keep from collapsing onto the bench. She knew this test was meant to help assess how well she’d do on the battlefield so it wouldn’t be easy, but she didn’t expect it to be this exhausting. First it felt like her mind was being squeezed with all of the complicated questions about spells and techniques and battlefield concepts that flew way over her head. It was also really embarrassing to admit that she couldn’t read the test paper and had to have everything read out to her, and she was pretty sure that by the third time that Leo had to repeat a really long word, he had already decided to fail her. But even afterwards he didn’t let up, having her complete a series of magic attacks on various targets that were set up. With him tsking every time she tried to cast, it was a wonder that she managed to speak the incantations without messing up or forgetting. 

“Hm. I’ve finished collating your results. Would you like to hear them?”

“S-Sure!”

She hastened to put on her best smile, but it faltered under that cold glare. She knew it wasn’t fair to Leo to compare him to Moth-... Sonia, but she felt like she was a child again, about to be reprimanded for her stupidity.

Leo barely glanced up at her when she responded, then his eyes swung back down to his paper. Nino felt her stomach drop.

“Well, to put it simply, your performance was... atrocious. Your written test results reflected a lack of fundamental knowledge in both tactics, magical technique, and general battlefield procedure. Moreover, your spellcasting contains many elementary errors in posture, manipulation of magic, and control that would make you a serious liability on the battlefield. In short, I cannot recommend you for combat duty anytime soon as you would almost certainly get yourself killed.”

Nino was struggling to hold back tears.

She...she probably knew that this would probably be the case. She accepted the offer to join the Order because she wanted to believe that here, she’d be able to do something useful. That she could be something of value, but that was a child’s dream. After all, hadn’t Sonia made it clear what kind of a burden she was?

_“Stupid useless brat, why do I even bother-”_

“However…”

Nino snapped her head back up, to see a bizarre sight. Was that Leo looking...sheepish?

“I would say that...you have potential.”

Nino stared at him for a long moment.

“Huh?”

For some reason Leo was looking off to the side and his face was turning red. 

“Look... You actually can’t read, right? You weren’t having me read the test out to you to be annoying?”

She blinked.

“I-Yes? Why would I do something as mean as that?”

“So to confirm this, you weren’t reading from the tome for the practical portion? You were casting from memory?”

Leo waved his hand at her, as if to emphasize his point.

“Um, yeah? I’m sorry, I know that’s probably really bad practice, but I swear I ca-”

“No, no that’s not what I meant. Gods, you really, you really don’t even know what it is you’re doing, do you?”

Leo was becoming more and more agitated, and was gesticulating more and more wildly. She was confused. Leo had already made it clear what he thought of her capabilities, so why was he getting so wound up about her illiteracy?

“It’s simply incredible to be able to use magic chants from memory! Even I can’t do that! You, you’re what, 11?”

“I’m 14!”, Nino replied indignantly, but Leo wasn’t listening, as he continued to ramble on, with an increasingly maniacal tone.

“The idea that a _child_ would be able to do it, why, I would have laughed the concept off as the height of ridiculousness had I not just seen it! And you, your technique! I saw you cast and you made every single elementary mistake in the book, from somatic positioning to mana transfer but somehow you still managed to cause enough fire to appear to torch those targets? How?!”

Leo stopped to catch his breath, but was still breathing heavily. Finally, as his exhalations got quieter and he seemed to calm down, he looked her dead in the eyes. 

“I just-I don’t understand. You have such fantastic power in spite of having no idea how to use it, surely someone must have noticed it. Did you just not have access to any teachers? Was your family unaware, or did you not have any?”

“I...no.”

She wasn’t sure how to explain. Sonia wasn’t her mother, but...she did raise her all those years, even if she disliked it, so surely that counted for something, right? And she was the one who brought her to the Black Fang which is how she met her brothers and Uncle Jan and Uncle Legault and they were definitely her family, so didn’t that make Sonia also her family? Thinking about this gave her a headache.

“I...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”

Hearing Leo start talking again snapped her out of her stupor. She quickly tried to think of something to say.

“No, it’s fine. I…”

She took a deep breath.

“I started learning magecraft by trying to imitate my mother. She was a really powerful sorceress. But she...she said I was...no good. That I should stop trying.”

The tears began welling up in her eyes again.

“Then your mother was an imbecile.”

Nino couldn’t process what she had heard.

“What?”

“Oh damn it, that’s not what I-Okay. Let me try again. Your mother absolutely was wrong. I don’t understand how someone as apparently competent as you say could’ve possibly failed to gauge your capacity, but I can absolutely guarantee, on my honor as a mage, no, as a prince of Nohr, that you are the complete opposite of ‘no good’. It is a complete travesty that your talents have been utterly wasted up to this point.”

Suddenly the world seemed to have gotten much hotter. Nino put her hands on her face, and it felt like it was burning up. She must have looked as red as a tomato.  
“Do-do you really mean that? I have talent? I can be...useful?”

“I don’t indulge in flattery. I meant what I said. You do have potential and it would be a shame to see it go to waste. Of course, you oughtn't get a swelled head; the path ahead certainly will not be easy, as magecraft is a complex and difficult art even for those with great abili-”

But Nino had stopped listening. She felt impossibly light, as if she would fly off into the sky if she let go. She had only just met Leo, but she believed him when he said that he wouldn’t lie about this. And that meant- that meant she wasn’t worthless! She had value! Oh, her heart was going to explode! 

Leo was still rambling on, but Nino had a very important query.

“Um, I have a question.”

“-Oh, of course. Do speak.”

“Can I....Can I hug you?”

“Er, pardon?”

This time it was Leo’s turn to blush in embarrassment.

\------

Nino was still walking on air when she got back to the barracks. After Leo had told her that enough was enough and she reluctantly let go of her embrace, he told her that he’d be discussing her future lesson plans with a couple other of the mages and also the summoner. She could still see him smiling and patting her on the shoulder, telling her to go get rested up because he wasn’t planning on making her classes easy. Each time the words of praise echoed between her ears the world seemed to get even brighter.

“Well, someone certainly seems to be in a good mood!”

“Ah! Summoner Kiran!”

Kiran waved at her from the other side of the hallway to the barrack rooms and she bounded over. They looked down at her, clearly amused by her giddiness.

“Please, just call me Kiran. Anyways, I take it you did well on the tests?”

Nino grinned.

“No, I did terrible!”

Of course this struck them dumb, but after she explained what had happened, they nodded in understanding.

“Hmm, it’s good to know that Leo was listening when I told him not to terrorize the new recruits….somewhat, at least. But enough about him, hmm? How have you been doing? Settling in well? How do you like being here?”

“Um, yeah, I’ve settled in fine? It’s been uh, alright.”

Really, Nino hadn’t gotten a good feel for the place. After all, she had just arrived yesterday. But the Order seemed nice. The castle was really pretty, but she guessed that wasn’t very notable because that’s how castles were supposed to be. And as for the other Heroes, well she hadn’t really talked to anyone besides the summoner and Leo. 

“Ah, I think I’ve got it! You must be nervous because everyone’s so much older, right? Must be odd for you when there’s barely any kids around, hmm?” Kiran nodded to themselves, pleased with their “brilliant” insight.

Nino didn’t exactly feel like contradicting them by saying she’d never really known other kids growing up. It’s not like she thought the summoner was an untrustworthy person, but she really didn’t want to get into what kind of a life she had led up to that point. 

She didn’t want to think much about her past at all, to be honest.

“Maybe I should introduce you to another kid so you guys can be friends, and it’ll be a little less lonely, hmm? But who...” Kiran hadn’t noticed Nino’s lack of response, caught up as they were. Nevertheless, Nino decided to actually say something this time. But what? It wasn’t like she had anyone in mind to-

A memory popped up in her head. Accidentally bumping into someone. A boy who looked so much like her it hurt. Running away like the idiot she was.

She should apologize, right? After all, wouldn’t she be confused, if someone knocked into her, asked her if she was some random person, and then ran off, right? That’d be a good excuse to talk. And Raigh seemed like a good person, although really it wasn’t like she knew anything about him.

Plus...she couldn’t explain it, but it felt like there was something drawing her to him. Some sort of invisible connection. She felt like she should know him somehow, and not just because they looked alike. They weren’t siblings, as she had found out, embarrassingly, but...maybe cousins? Some distant relation? It just didn’t seem right that they had nothing to do with each other, but she couldn’t explain why.

Or maybe she was just being delusional. All she had ever wanted was family, for people who’d be with her always, so she’d not feel so cold and alone anymore. Over and over it seemed that when she’d found it, the world delighted in taking that away from her: her birth parents, Sonia, the Black Fang. Maybe this bond she felt to Raigh was a flicker of imagination of a silly child who couldn’t accept that her existence would always be one of solitude. She shouldn’t even bother.

_“Look, Nino, I’m sorry you can’t come with me. The life I’ll live just isn’t suited for someone like you. You’re still young. Go and make something decent out of yourself and forget about me and the Fang and all of this. Eliwood and this group are good people, I’m sure you’ll be able to find some place with them. Promise me that you’ll try, okay?”_

_“O-okay, Uncle Legault. I...promise.”_

No. She couldn’t let this opportunity to finally find true family pass her by. She had to try, she promised Uncle Legault that she would. One more time at least. She’d let herself hope, one more time. 

She took a deep breath, trying not to stumble over her words. Fortunately, it seemed Kiran was still lost in thought.

“Um, there’s a boy named Raigh, right?”

“-not Lachesis, she’s still angry at me for not summoning her brother- wait, did I hear you correctly? Raigh? You want to be friends with _him_?”

Kiran stared at her as if she had grown a second head. She felt her face warm up, but she was committed.

“Yeah, Raigh. Do you mind telling me where he is?”

Kiran continued staring at her, but eventually turned around, beckoning her to follow.

\------

“Right, he’s over there, practicing like always. Go ahead and… say hello, I suppose.”

Kiran then walked off, leaving Nino alone with all of the butterflies in her stomach. She tried psyching herself up. Okay, she could do this. She would walk over, apologize for running off the other day, and ask if- wow, what was he doing?

There was a huge swarm of purple burning flames that kind of looked like they had faces, and they started swirling inward, until they suddenly collapsed together into a huge ball of fire.

Nino might not have been very knowledgeable in terms of magic, but even she could recognize dark magic when she saw it. Whenever she came across shamans in the Black Fang, she often had to resist shuddering, as being next to them made her feel like that she’d fall into the darkness that was their home. But if they were scary, that was nothing next to the chills that this spell gave her. Even from a distance, she could feel the intensity of the power it unleashed. And Raigh was able to accomplish such an obviously challenging spell? It was...it was…

It was amazing! Raigh must have been truly gifted. No wonder Leo had been so harsh if this was the prowess that they had-

Suddenly, Raigh flinched. Nino tilted her head in confusion, until she realized in horror what had broken his concentration. Without consciously noticing it, she had started applauding. 

Trying not to panic, she grasped for something to say as Raigh turned around in clear annoyance, but could only come up with maintaining a blank smile.

“Um, hi!”

“Who- oh. It’s you.”

She was off to a great start already. He was clearly getting more irritated by the second, and so she continued fumbling for her words.

“I didn’t meant to interrupt, but, your spell. It was really...cool.”

“...Thanks.”

He was now looking fairly bewildered. She couldn’t really blame him.

“So is there some actual reason you had to come and bother me, or are you just here to gawk?”

“Oh! Um. About the other day-I’m really sorry!”

“What?”

“You know, about running off like that, after bumping into you and asking you about your name? That was really rude of me, and I’m sorry!”

“And...that’s why you’re here. Just because of that.”

“Uh, yes?”

“...”

If he wasn’t looking confused before, he certainly was now. Was it really so strange to him to apologize for something like that, or was she the weird one? 

“Well, anyways, I guess I accept your apology. So, you can go now then, uh…”

It finally occurred to Nino that Raigh was trailing off because he didn’t know her name. She felt even sillier for how much of a fool she had been.

“Oh, I’m Nino! Um, sorry for the late introduction, but it’s nice to meet you, Raigh.”

“...Yeah. So really, you can go now, Nino. If you don’t mind, I’ve got things to do.”

“Um, wait!”

She really wasn’t sure why she was insistent on continuing the conversation. After all she had apologized, he had accepted the apology, so everything should be fine now, right? But somehow, it felt like if she left now, without explaining everything, she’d regret it.

“Can I just, uh, explain a little more about why I asked you about that? I’d feel really bad if I didn’t apologize fully, so…”

He sighed.

“And you’re not gonna leave until you’re satisfied, huh?”

“Uh…”

“Whatever. Just get on with it.”

“Um, right, so. Kai is...was my brother. I asked you if you were him because well, you look a lot alike, y’know? I mean, I guess we also look alike, hehe. I guess it was silly to think that you could be him, since he’s gone, but they said that they summon heroes from all times and ages so I thought for a second that maybe…”

Nino trailed off, after she could no longer bear the sound of her babbling. Looking up, she was shocked to see that Raigh’s eyes, which had been cold and distant this whole time, had filled with tenderness, the last thing that she expected.

“I see. I’m... sorry about your loss. I...have a brother too, and if he were gone I’d... Well, never mind that.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to make it all depressing, I’m sorry. I just...I didn’t ever get to know him, and-”

“Wait, hold on. You...didn’t know your brother?”

“Yes, I didn’t get to know any of my family, actually, they were all gone before I could remember.”

“Then, how did you know I looked like him?”

“Oh, I have a picture of him! Let me show it to you, then you’ll see why I confused him for you…”

She reached around her neck, and pulled out the pendant she was wearing under her clothes. She always kept it close to her nowadays. After all, it was her greatest treasure.

“Right, so if I open that up-”

“Where did you get that.”

Suddenly Raigh’s voice got really angry. He had started walking towards her, his hands clenched into fists. Nino took an unconscious step backwards.

“Um, this was my mother’s-”

“Shut up! Do you really think you can get away with a lie that stupid?”

“What-”

“When did you steal that? Was it right now? Was that the real reason you came over here, you snake!”

“What on earth are you talking about? This is my penda- Let go of me!”  
She had taken a few more steps backwards and was about to run, but he had grabbed her arm really tightly, until it hurt. She tried to shake him off, but his grip was like iron.

“Listen carefully. I will give you exactly one chance to return that, or else I will end your miserable life right now. Do you understand?”

“What is wrong with you? I told you, I didn’t steal this! Now, let--go--of--me!” 

In trying to get him to relinquish his hold, she shoved him off with her free hand, and he crashed into the nearby bench where he had put his book and bag.

Nino was breathing heavily. She was about as physically threatening as a mouse, but there was no way she’d let anyone take the last link she had to her mother and the rest of her family without a fight. It took a second for her to notice that, contrary to her expectations, Raigh wasn’t glaring at her, but was instead staring at something on the ground nearby. When she followed his line of sight, she did a double take.

Raigh had knocked the bag of the bench when he hit it, causing it to spill out one of its contents.

And that content was a pendant.

One that was identical to hers.

It took her a second to realize that Raigh was muttering, as lost in shock as she was.

“...how could she...supposed to…said it belonged to mother…”

Slowly, Raigh picked up the pendant and his things, as if being manipulated by strings, while Nino stood there, still half-convinced her eyes were deceiving her. He looked straight at her, his face a mixture of emotions, of shock, sadness, hope, anger, and a million other things. Then, suddenly, he paled, and ran off. Before Nino came to her senses, he was gone, leaving her alone with a storm of thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will these kids ever actually finish a conversation without one of them running off? will I ever write at a decent pace? tune in next time to find out
> 
> also hooray for lugh getting into heroes!


End file.
